Netflix Documentary on Elizabeth Smart Case Sparks Debate

An American kidnapping drama gets documentary treatment

Netflix is launching the documentary series "Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart" in 2026, telling the story of one of the United States' most talked-about kidnapping cases from 2002. The 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her bedroom at knifepoint in the middle of the night in Salt Lake City and held captive for nine months before she was rescued and identified by a passing motorist on March 12, 2003.

The documentary series' distinctive approach lies in its use of Elizabeth Smart's own words combined with interviews from her family and the investigative team that worked on the case. This provides viewers with an intimate, firsthand perspective of both the abduction and the recovery from the traumatic event.

Why the case fascinates true crime audiences

The Elizabeth Smart case belongs to a particular category of American kidnappings that received massive media coverage both locally and nationally. The combination of a young teenager, a brazen attack in an affluent neighborhood, prolonged captivity, and ultimately a dramatic rescue created a case that journalists, law enforcement, and the public followed intensely.

The documentary series arrives at a time when true crime documentaries have never been more popular with streaming audiences. Netflix has invested significantly in this genre, and "Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart" positions itself as a definitive account of one of the most widely covered American kidnapping cases of the decade.